Death & I
by KaylenDarkfire
Summary: Well, in my Drabbles fic, the last chapter uploaded was "The Aftermath of an NDE" which features my OC Lindsey so I decided to just separate any more stories involving her into their own story. Hope you all enjoy. I'll still be uploading to my drabbles with other content but anything involving Lindsey will be here.


After talking with Abby and LabRat for some time, Ty decided to head home and relax. His old and new wounds were starting to ache and all he wanted to do was rest.

When he did arrive, of course, his parents had a million and one questions, especially his mother who frantically wanted to check on his arm. He avoided her though, not wanting her to touch it, and lied on the spot.

"Abby and I were going down a hill to a friend's house and I tripped, tumbled down, and got road burn. Really. It's sensitive, please don't touch my bandages." Petunia stopped her advancement but both parents still weren't happy. This was the second wound Ty's gotten in less than a week.

"Ty, we want you to take it easy for a while. You're getting hurt and we don't want it to escalate. For at least the next two weeks, no more going out to friends' houses. Just school and then home, okay?" Petunia said.

"But mom," He started.

"No but!" Harvey quickly cut off his son's attempt to reason. "At least let your wounds heal." Ty let out a sigh and nodded, walking up to his room. He had just closed his door behind himself and turned when he nearly bumped into Lindsey, flinching. His momentary shock turned into a deep frown as he felt a certain type of anger rise.

"Why **are you _following me_**?!" He said through grit teeth. Lindsey was unaffected, though, her eyes half-lidded and her demeanor neutral.

"Because I must, if I'm being honest. Do you think I'm doing this because I like bothering you?" Ty's anger died down and he realized she was right. She probably didn't want to have to do this either as much as he wishes it wasn't happening.

"No. Sorry about that." Lindsey smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder, his anger vanishing and being replaced by a cool, calm feeling.

"Don't worry about it, Ty. I don't really blame you. I wish it wasn't an inconvenience to you, trust me."

"Yeah." Ty said before chuckling at an idea. "If only, like, you could blend in or something. Like as another person." Such a funny idea, someone like Lindsey just mingling with people. Ty couldn't help but smile, Lindsey so quiet and somewhat creepy just dealing with multiple people at a time, weirding them out or scaring them.

Lindsey, though, seemed to get a particular gleam in her eyes.

"Hey, you're right."

"What?"

"That would make things easier, huh?" Before Ty could ask her more about it, she turned and left, disappearing into the wall and leaving him alone. He bit his lip, not having a good feeling about this. What was she planning?

For the rest of the day, he didn't see her, just lounging around and watching T.V. or working on some homework. Even as night came, after Abby came home, Lindsey still hadn't returned. He went to bed and shrugged it off, deciding not to think about it for now. If Lindsey showed up, fine, if not, cool. No more problems, or at least he hoped.

The next day, he went to school and decided to wear a jacket to cover his arm. He didn't want a lot of questions or anything and instead went to greet a face he had been excited to see again and he couldn't help but feel warm inside when he saw her round the corner towards her locker.

Naomi wore a happy smile as she walked over but upon seeing Ty, she seemed just as excited to see him.

"Hey, Ty!" She greeted and sped up to meet him. "How was your weekend?"

"Oof, busy, you have no idea. I'm just glad to see you again."

"Oh, really?" She giggled, finding that a bit odd but enjoying it anyways. "Well, I'm happy to see you too. I hope the rest of your week isn't too busy or anything."

"Yeah." Ty said when he remembered what Lindsey had said about being honest while he could. "Uh, actually, Naomi."

"Yes?"

"I..." He found his throat starting to dry out along with his mouth, his nerves getting the better of him. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, deciding to push past it. "I wanted to know if, maybe, you wanted to go out on another date? I've really liked the other two we've gone on and I just, you know, would like to go on another one."

Naomi thought it over for a moment before she gave Ty a gentle smile, placing a hand on his arm. "Awe, Ty, you're really sweet. I've also enjoyed the dates and I'd love to go on another one. Best time for me would be Friday, maybe we could go to like dinner or watch another movie?"

"Sure!" Ty said and Naomi left, heading to class, leaving him in a dreamy daze.

"Didn't your parents say no going out for like two weeks or until your wounds healed up?" He turned quickly and was greeted by a stranger. She looked to just be a little older than him, maybe by a year or two with jet black hair down to her mid-back and pale skin. She was dressed in a gray t-shirt, black tights with boots and with each ear having three piercings; she had a very goth or punk look to her.

"Huh?" He asked. "I'm sorry, uh, how did you know that about my parents?"

The girl raised an eyebrow before leaning forward, close to him.

"Ty, are you sure you don't recognize me?" Now closer, he looked into her pale green eyes and recognized them.

"_Lindsey_?" He asked. "This is what you meant?"

"Yup. I'm cool and hip now, all young and down with it. You know?" She bobbed her head side to side as if listening to a song and Ty couldn't help but wince.

"No, don't say that. Please. How are you even able to do this? What about your job?"

"Well, the best way I can put it is that I decided to use up all the vacation days I've accumulated. As I said, there are other repears so it's not like without me, there's no death. Besides, this is the easiest way to do this. Now you won't seem crazy and I can keep an even closer eye on you."

Ty let out a soft groan and pinched the bridge of his nose. But she was right. This was better than seeming to talk to no one. He then realized what she had said about his parents was right. _Fuck._

"Awe man! I mean, I'm sure I can convince my parents by then."

"Ah, I see." Lindsey smirked and shrugged. "I guess we'll see. You've got five days to do so, anyways." The bell then rang and Ty went to class, Lindsey following close behind. It was kind of odd seeing her act like this in a normal setting. Instead of being creepy and quiet like he thought, she seemed so casual and happy, jotting down on a piece of paper she borrowed from someone with a pencil she also borrowed.

This process was repeated in the next classes too and for as odd as it was, he was happy he could relax for a bit. Though, as his classes went on, he started to feel very groggy and hot.

Shit. He was getting sick like Lindsey had said.

Luckily, lunch break came along and he took this time to go to the bathroom and splash his face. When he looked into the mirror, he could see his face was already getting flushed and he was starting to feel dizzy.

"Uugh, why?" He groaned to himself. "I feel so hot."

"_Hooooot_." He heard beside him, like a loud whisper. Turning, he stumbled back in shock at the sight of another dark figure, tall and looming. There were no facial features this time but he could clearly hear whatever it was panting like it couldn't breathe. "_It's sooo hot. Sooo..._" It reached down to grab Ty but he quickly scrambled away, turning to get to the door.

"Agh!" He cried out in pain when he felt something akin to a hot iron grab his ankle. Just before he could turn and face it, the bathroom door flew open and the creature hissed. Lindsey leapt in and grabbed for the thing, but it hissed as it pulled back, Lindsey missing it by a bit. In a huge burst of hot air and black shadows, it was gone, the restroom lights flickering and threatening to go out for a moment until everything seemed to settle down.

Lindsey remained in her initial crouched position for a moment before she turned slowly to Ty. "Hey, are you okay?"

The young grossologist just tried to still his beating heart, his fear lessoning but the sick feeling from earlier coming back with a vengeance. He tried to speak but all that came out was a soft groan as he started to feel ridiculously hot. Did someone turn the bathroom into an oven? The dizziness also increased, and darkness started to creep in from the edges of his vision, rapidly growing.

Lindsey noticed and rushed forward to grab him but before she got to him, he was out.

_…_

_Hot._

_It's too hot._

**_Hooooot!_**

**_Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!_**

_I can't breathe! I'm going to suffocate!_

_I can't breathe because it's too hot!_

"Uugh, it's too hot!" Ty shouted as he bolted up. He was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.

"It's okay. You're just sick." He turned to see Lindsey sitting beside him, a water bottle in hand. She handed it to him, and he gulped almost all of it down, feeling so thirsty. "Don't choke." Lindsey warned.

After drinking, he relaxed and lied back down, looking around to take in where exactly he was. The nurses office in the back where she kept beds for anyone who was really sick.

"I told the nurse you fainted from heat so now you're here." Lindsey explained. "How are you feeling? I'm going to guess you're still really hot."

"Yes." Ty groaned. "I can't believe Lance Boils puss got me this sick."

"Well, it's a mix of his initial sickness and then the entity grabbing you." She ran a hand gently over his leg where it had gripped him and Ty hissed, flinching away. "Yeah, it's still sensitive. You might even have a mark."

"What was that?"

"It's a cross between the spirit of someone and then just negative, emotional energy. Things like that are what were inside that door you went into."

"They exist here? In the living world?" Ty looked at her, nervous as she nodded.

"Most people don't see or interact with them unless they're psychic or, in your case, had a near death experience that you remember."

"But why are they targeting me?"

"Same reason as before. They want you to die again, even if just for a moment, and then immediately just take over the fresh corpse. Then they'll live again and just do as they please which is normally doing bad but maybe some just genuinely want to be a person again." Ty shut his eyes and leaned back, a heat wave passing through him. He wanted nothing more than to take a trip into a freezer or maybe Antartica. He felt like his skin was on fire inside and out.

A sudden cold hand on his face felt like a blessing and he leaned into it, opening his eyes to see it was Lindsey cupping his face.

"I can help you feel better. You know, now that I'm off the job temporarily." She offered.

"Really?" She nodded then grabbed the water bottle he'd drank from earlier. It had only some water left but she held it close to her face and took a deep breath before blowing onto it. With the gust, there was a noticeable cracking sound as the outside of the bottle was covered in a thin layer of ice and the inside was chilled.

"Here. Drink this and you'll feel loads better, I promise." Ty smiled appreciatively and drank down. As he drank the ice-cold water, it seemed to cool him inside the further it went down until he didn't feel even a little hot. If anything, now he felt a bit cold but that was fine.

"Thank you." he said breathlessly, relief practically numbing him.

"Yeah, it's no problem, B." Ty made a face at that and was about to ask a question when someone else walked into the room. It was Naomi and she looked worried as she made her way to the back where Ty was.

"Ty! I heard you fainted in the restroom from a heat stroke. Are you okay? What happened?" Naomi paused by the opposite side that Lindsey was on. "Oh, hello." She greeted.

"Hi." Lindsey said.

"Hi Naomi. Um, I don't know if it was a heat stroke but I'm feeling a lot better now." Naomi seemed to relax at that, touching his face to make sure.

"Well, you don't feel hot or anything so that's good. I was really worried."

Ty couldn't help but blush softly at that while Lindsey just grinned softly, resting her head in her hands.

"I will leave you two to chat." She got up to leave. Just before she got out though, she nearly crashed into a familiar redhead, but quickly jumped out of the way.

"Whoa, sorry!" Abby said, looking apologetic.

"Nah, don't worry. I know you're probably worried about Ty. He's just having a moment." Abby gave a confused face.

"Oh, you know Ty?"

"Eeeeh, we're acquaintances." Lindsey shrugged and walked off. Abby just gave a soft hum and walked in. Naomi and Ty were both chatting, Naomi leaning on him while he leaned back. It was very cute but the two quickly separated when Abby cleared her throat, a smile on her face.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're actually doing okay." Ty was blushing and nodded while Naomi just giggled. "What happened. Ty?"

Ty shifted, uncomfortable, and shrugged. "I'm not sure Abby. I just remember being in the bathroom because I started feeling sick and the next thing I know, I'm in here. I think I got sick from..." He trailed off as he realized Naomi was still in the room. "...from-from that project we were working on yesterday. You know, how it exploded and covered me in chemicals. I think I'm sick from that."

"Your project exploded?" Naomi asked, frowning. Ty just nodded and Naomi gently squeezed his hand.

"Abby, please don't tell mom and dad about this. They're already on my case about the last thing. _Please_." Abby nodded.

"Yeah, don't worry. I won't tell."

Ty spent the rest of the school day relaxing, even when back in class. After school, just as he was walking home with Abby, he caught a glimpse of Lindsey following behind until she was by his side. She smiled at him before placing a finger to her lips and then continuing to walk.

The boy quirked an eyebrow but just shrugged in response.

"So, you're sure you're feeling better? I don't want you to faint on the way home." Abby asked.

"Yes, Abby. I am. Even my leg and shoulder are feeling better." This was true. The aches and soreness that he'd been feeling before had died down since he drank the water Lindsey gave him. The two made their way home chatting about class and once inside, Ty paused as he watched Lindsey just walk in and make her way upstairs. His parents nor Abby reacted or even greeted her.

"Hmm," He narrowed his eyes and went upstairs, telling his parents hello as he passed. Once in his room, he closed the door and asked what was on his mind. "So, you can go invisible even in this form?" Lindsey nodded. "Just didn't feel like meeting my family?"

"Nah. I didn't feel like going through all that right now."

"So you know how to heal things? How did you know how to heal what was wrong with me?" Ty asked as he sat down. Lindsey just shrugged with a smile.

"I've had to deal with fevers before, Ty." she chuckled.

"You've gotten sick before?"

"Yes, but I more so had to deal with fevers when taking care of my kids." Ty quirked an eyebrow.

"You have children?" Lindsey nodded and held up three fingers. Before Ty could ask another question, she stopped him. "You don't want to know, trust me." That was weird. Ty tried to ask more questions but each time he was shushed.

"Please don't ask about my personal life, Ty. At least not right now." Lindsey looked uncomfortable as she said this. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Well...can I ask about it later? I mean, you're going to know a lot about mine while you're with me so..." He trailed off and she rolled her eyes before sighing.

"Fine." Ty smiled, proud of his debating skills as he walked down to join his parents for dinner. When Lindsey didn't follow, he tried to ask again but she waved it off. "I'm just going to chill up here Ty." he shrugged and went downstairs.

Over dinner, the two siblings discussed their day, omitting Ty's fainting incident, and listened to their parents talk about their own days at work. Then their parents, of course, questioned Ty about how he was feeling.

"Are you sure you're feeling all better? I mean, you certainly look better." Harvey said, smiling. Ty did seem more energetic now and it was obvious his illness didn't dampen his appetite as he was working on his second serving of his mothers' lasagna.

"Thanks, dad. Yes, I'm fine."

"So..." Abby started with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't know you made a new friend. And with a new girl?" Ty paused mid-bite and turned to her.

"Huh? Oh, uh, Lindsey. Well..." When did Abby see her? "...what? She was in my class and then she's the one who helped..." he trailed off, remembering to keep his secret from his parents. "-helped me catch up in class. I got distracted a little because of my arm."

"Oh, I'm so happy that you're making more friends." Petunia gleamed. "Abby, you should also look into making friends."

"_Mom_," Abby said but Petunia persisted.

"Oh Abby, I just never hear you talk about any friends. I don't want you to feel lonely at school or anything." The redhead rolled her eyes and just continued eating.

* * *

After dinner, when everything was cleaned up, Ty went back to his room and found Lindsey examining his pictures and trophies.

"You're very smart." She commented as she placed down a picture of his when he was winning an award for one of his robots. "Gifted up here." She tapped her head.

He smiled softly. "Uh, thank you. I think I am too, not to toot my own horn or anything."

"I guess it's a very good thing you didn't die then. I'm sure you'll do good things with your future." At that, Ty nodded, more thoughtful. There then fell a silence, not uncomfortable, but noticeable. "What's on your mind?" Lindsey asked, an eyebrow raised.

Ty sighed softly. A lot was on his mind if he had to be honest.

"This is just, well, still weird. I don't know." Lindsey gave a thoughtful hum as Ty sat on his bed.

"Well, yes, I do imagine that you're still adjusting to this. It is the first day, after all." She moved and sat beside him, pulling her legs up on the bed. "Maybe talking can make it less weird? Like, if soon enough, it feels like I'm just your friend, it'll be less weird." Ty nodded, not having any better ideas right now.

"So, does that mean I can ask you questions?"

Lindsey visibly cringed. "I guess I walked into that one. Sure, but not too personal yet."

"Okay." Ty smiled and thought it over. "Well, exactly how old are you?" Lindsey promptly started laughing.

"Oh, I'm very old, Ty. Too old to recount but I'm sure I fall under the category of 'ancient'." Ty nodded slowly. He supposes that makes sense. "So...were you, well, born as a reaper? Or are reapers born at all? I mean-" His rambling was quickly cut off as Lindsey covered his mouth.

"I get what you mean. I, personally, was born a regular person, like you. Human, and having a normal life, long, long ago. Most reapers are like me, where they were humans once, and then became reapers due to their own circumstances. Few others are not human and are reapers out of necessity, should there be not enough of the ones like me."

Well, that was surprising. For some reason, he thought maybe Lindsey had always been like this. But seeing her now, he could imagine her normal once, just another kid. Then another question came to mind.

"What made you become a reaper? Did you choose to become one?" At this, Lindsey became visibly uncomfortable. "Do you not want to talk about it yet?"

She shook her head and slowly slid off the bed, going to his window. "Another time, Ty. Another time." Before he could ask anything else, she jumped out his window and was gone. The grossologist frowned, feeling a bit bad. He didn't mean to overstep but he was so curious. He had a million questions for her.

Oh well. Another time, as she said. He switched on his TV and relaxed, enjoying some mind-numbing game show before he dozed off.

* * *

**Authors Note:**** Hello! Hope you all enjoyed! I don't know how often I will be updating this fic but I do enjoy writing it. So expect more in the future, maybe. I will also be trying to write for my other Grossology fanfics. :) Thank you for reading.**


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